HSK Level 6 Exam Tips and Advice

The HSK Level 6 test assesses test takers’ abilities to use Chinese in their everyday life. It is the counterpart of the level 5 of the Chinese Language Proficiency Scales for Speakers of Other Languages and the C2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEF). Test takes who are able to pass the HSK 6 can easily comprehend written and spoken information in Chinese and can effectively express themselves in Chinese, both orally and on paper.

The Basics of HSK Level 6

Whether you’re just preparing to take level 6 of the HSK or if you feel you’re ready but still lack of certain skills to answer all the questions, I’ll give you some advice! The truth is once you enter the high level of Chinese learning, the most important thing is no longer grammar nor vocabulary, but to be sure to understand both formal and informal Chinese in all kinds of context and on all kinds of topics. In order to achieve this goal, we still need to start from the fundamental things but with different strategies.

Most HSK test takers use alphabetical vocabulary lists, which don’t work well! How are you going to remember all the words that start with ‘shi’ in one day? Instead, a better and methodological way to accumulate vocabulary is to categorize words by the topics, such as sports, hobbies, daily schedule, working arrangement, etc. The idea is to start with a vocabulary tree, which means to start from a single word so as to know a lot more.

Grammar

I believe the HSK 6 test takers must have had already a very solid basis of Chinese grammar, and a decent and comprehensive grammar book can give you something more. Here, I recommend A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners (Revised edition, Beijing Language and Culture University Press). This book is written in Chinese and English. Not only fundamental grammar rules are explained in a concise and comprehensible way, but also numerous example sentences and tables are provided to highlight the classification and functions of words, phrases and sentences.

Learn the strategy

Too many students register for the HSK don’t have a strategy for the test. If you go into the test center without a plan, you’ll not only be more likely to fail but you’ll go through the problems more slowly. For each section, you should deal with different types of questions with different methods. For example, in order to tackle the Chinese synonyms part, 1700 Groups of Frequently Used Chinese Synonyms (Beijing Language and Culture University Press) will definitely help you clear confusions. 1718 pairs (among which there are 80 groups of 3 words) of commonly used Chinese words and expressions that foreign students often misused were selected in the book, such as ‘办法-方法’, ‘向-对’, ‘过-了’, ‘突然-忽然’, ‘会-能’, ‘正，在-正在’, etc. The Chinese people do not have problem with these words and expression. But foreigners are often confused and frustrated by them. Only after they understand the similarities and differences between these words and expressions do they answer the HSK 6 test with no problem.

Practice

Once you know everything you need to do, all that’s left is practice. Do as many module tests as you can. And put what you’ve learned into action and see just how easy the HSK 6 can be! If you need Chinese teachers to help you with HSK 6 preparation, here to contact!

About The Author

Fifi Yang

Fifi has spent a great number of years learning French. With the understanding of the challenges of learning a language. She puts this experience to good use while preparing and delivering classes to her students. Fifi enjoys drawing, reading, and sports.
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